No Way in Hell
by MidnightRose24
Summary: Thalia Grace doesn't take medicine. She doesn't need it, nor want it. No one could change that- or so she thought. Warning: child abuse is included in this story. Nico makes a two second appearance. :P One-shot.


"_The only thing to fear is fear itself."_

_-Franklin D. Roosevelt_

A little girl with long black hair, twisted in an elegant braid, sat on a couch- her favourite couch to be exact- and watched in delight as "those meddling kids" caught the villain once again. It was her favourite show. And, this time, her mother wasn't there to interrupt. Her mother seemed to do that often. Wherever she went she would always make things stop for her. It was rather rude, in the girl's opinion. But, then again, not a lot seemed to mind- or if they did, they didn't show it.

Over the sound of the TV, the little girl heard footsteps. Not a moment later her mother was standing in front of her, blocking her view of the television. "Take this," she said, handing her two small, oval-shaped things.

The girl looked at them for a moment before figuring out what they were. They were pills; cold medicine. But she didn't have a cold. She felt perfectly healthy. "I don't need them," she pointed out, making sure that she didn't sound bratty (she knew how her mother could get).

"Take them," her mother repeated a little more vehemently this time.

The girl hesitated, unsure of what to do. Medicine wasn't supposed to be taken when you didn't need it- she knew that from school. But they also said that you shouldn't take it without your parent's permission and this _was_ her mother telling her to take it. Yet, she still wasn't convinced that she could just take the pills. "No, thank you." She added the "thank you" part in quickly before her mother could lecture her on manners again. Her mom's definition of lecture seemed to be a bit different from other parent's definition. But the girl had a feeling that she shouldn't point that out.

Her mother eyed her carefully, almost as if she were going to forget about the whole thing and walk away. In a flash she had the girl pinned to the couch cushions. The little girl squirmed and started to scream. "Mommy, stop it! I don't need it!"

Her "mommy" ignored her. "What did I tell you about disobeying me? Is that acceptable in this house?"

The girl took notice that her mom's breath smelled of something strong. What was it called? Tequila? "I'm sorry. I won't do it again," she promised.

Ignoring this, her mother snatched the pills from the girl's hand and slapped her hand over the girl's mouth, forcing her to take them. The girl fought to get free, but her mom was stronger than her. Eventually, the pills slipped inside the girl's mouth and she started to swallow them (_It's much easier to swallow them with a liquid of some sort_, she noted), not wanting to choke.

When the pills had successfully made their way down the little girl's throat, her mother let go of her. "There's a cold going around. I don't want you catching it." She started to make her way out of the room. "Heat something up for dinner," she demanded before marching back into her room and slamming the door shut.

The little girl sat there, on her favourite couch while her favourite show played, and cried, confused as to what just happened.

A now seventeen year-old Thalia gulped as Nico rattled the small package of pills. "Thalia, you're sick. These are going to help you." He explained all of this slowly, mocking her, for he had no idea why Thalia didn't take medicine.

"I don't need it. It's just a stupid cold. I have an immune system for a reason," she snapped.

"Yeah, and it isn't in the best shape right now. Help it out." He held his hand out, offering her the medicine again.

She did her best to hide her discomfort. "No way in hell. Now leave me alone, Di Angelo."

He rolled his eyes. "Keep them. You may change your mind later."

Snatching the pills from his hand (and planning to throw them away as soon as his back was turned), she said, "If you insist."

The bell rang, signaling fourth period and students began to shuffle to class. "I'll see you later." Nico gave her a quick peck on the lips and left to go to his history class.

Not seeing a trashcan close by and deciding that there wasn't enough time to search for one, Thalia shoved the pills into her back pocket and walked to her English class. She made it through English and half of history, but finally she couldn't take the coughing and sneezing. Thalia raised her hand and coughed for what felt like the millionth time.

"Yes, Ms. Grace?" her teacher asked.

She put her hand down. "May I please go to the bathroom?"

Her teacher looked back down at the papers on his desk and responded, "Take the pass and sign out."

A couple of seconds later, Thalia was in the bathroom examining the pills. She took a shaky breath and told herself, '_She can't hurt you anymore. She's gone._' Still, she had a hard time believing it.

Slowly, Thalia opened the package and held the small pills in her hand. _'You can do this. Come on!'_ she urged herself. Deciding to be quick about it, like a band aid, she popped pills in her mouth and gulped them down with water from the faucet. She breathed in deeply. She had done it. It may not seem like much, but she had done it.

She tossed the wrapper into the trash can on her way out and smiled, feeling better already. At one point in her life, her mother did control some of her life, but Thalia wouldn't let her now. She would make sure of it.

**A/N: This was just a little thing that I thought of back when I was sick a couple of weeks ago. And, for clarification, I made it so that Thalia would be the person to change her own mind. How inspirational~ am I? :P**


End file.
